Okay, wondering if you can help me. At of my favorite casual dining restaurants (Max and Erma's, if it makes any difference) you can order their food to go. That's all good, but when I go in to pay for my food, the check comes with a line for tips, and last time I was there, they had a tip jar sitting out on the to-go counter.

My dilemma is- should/need I tip the to-go person? My original instinct is no, because they aren't really waiting on me, but...

I think it's up to you - but if it's a restaurant that is generally geared to dining-in, I do tip a small amount for a pickup order. Not as much as I would for dining-in- maybe 8 or 10 %, rounding it up to the most convenient $$ amount. Someone is taking extra time to assemble the pickup order, as opposed to a fast-food place where perhaps the majority of orders would be take-out. That said - if I gave something like $12 for a $ 9.50 order and got asked "do you want change" my answer was "now, I do".

I do disagree with a PP's assertion that a pickup order can be almost as much work as dining in. I'm not saying that it's no work at all, but there's not the work involved in constantly revisiting a table to make sure that they're satisfied, don't need refills on drinks, etc.

Why?

With a lot of modifiers and sides of things, yes, it can be more work.

The worker should always give the customer the change back and then let them decide what to do with it. The furtest I would go would be to say "I'll be right back with your change" and if they tell you to keep it then you are fine. But asking if they want thier money is presumptuous.

I remember being a hostess, making $7 an hour, and putting together this huge to go order ($200 worth). I labeled every box, went above and beyond, and didn't even get $1. I didn't expect $30, but they really couldn't even leave me $5. I felt jipped.

How would a customer know you'd gone to all that trouble? Whenever I've done a pick up, I am handed a bag or two and I take it. I pay and go.

The worker should always give the customer the change back and then let them decide what to do with it. The furtest I would go would be to say "I'll be right back with your change" and if they tell you to keep it then you are fine. But asking if they want thier money is presumptuous.

The worker should err on the side of caution, but I'm not sure why the customer would hand over $12 for a $9.50 order unless the extra $2.50 was intended to be a tip. Otherwise wouldn't you hand over $10? Why the extra 2 singles if you just want them to be handed back?

The worker should always give the customer the change back and then let them decide what to do with it. The furtest I would go would be to say "I'll be right back with your change" and if they tell you to keep it then you are fine. But asking if they want thier money is presumptuous.

That's what I do unless the bill is say $17 and they give me a $20 and $1.

I remember being a hostess, making $7 an hour, and putting together this huge to go order ($200 worth). I labeled every box, went above and beyond, and didn't even get $1. I didn't expect $30, but they really couldn't even leave me $5. I felt jipped.

How would a customer know you'd gone to all that trouble? Whenever I've done a pick up, I am handed a bag or two and I take it. I pay and go.

It wasn't a bag or two, it was a $200 order. I explained to them the order: "I labeled everything, all of the burgers are going to be in these two bags, blah blah blah, I put all of the condiments in a separate bag, etc etc etc." When your order covers the entire bar, it's obvious it took a lot of work.

The worker should always give the customer the change back and then let them decide what to do with it. The furtest I would go would be to say "I'll be right back with your change" and if they tell you to keep it then you are fine. But asking if they want thier money is presumptuous.

The worker should err on the side of caution, but I'm not sure why the customer would hand over $12 for a $9.50 order unless the extra $2.50 was intended to be a tip. Otherwise wouldn't you hand over $10? Why the extra 2 singles if you just want them to be handed back?

Sometimes they hear the total wrong (as to go order totals are often said verbally) and expect coin change. I've seen that happen before. I think it's more the customers responsibility to tell the person "the rest is for you," to clear any confusion.